"Then why are you standing here?" Kaizan chided. "Go and find the relevant one."
"Yes, m'lord," she nodded vehemently. Her magic was about to crackle in her hands when a heavy voice came from behind.
"Kaizan, are you going for dinner?" Tadgh asked.
Shocked, she whipped her head in the direction of the second man with wide eyes. Was he also in the group? With great difficulty, Maple suppressed her magic.
"Yes," Kaizan replied, still looking at the barmaid. "Can you move?" he said to her. "I have to step out."
"Y— yes, m'lord," she said nervously and moved aside.
Kaizan came out, locked his room and after giving her one more look, joined Tadgh who was standing on the stairs.
She saw Kaizan shaking his head, while saying, "I have yet to see a more hideous barmaid!"
Tadgh chuckled. "I thought that was a man dressed as a woman."
Kaizan burst into a laugh.
Maple's mouth fell to the floor. "Wait till I convert you both into toads!" she muttered.
She saw them turning round the corner towards the dining room. Her eyes sparkled as she grinned with excitement. Now she knew the location. This was only getting better. Though Kaizan was saved by his companion, she didn't feel disappointed. By the time they would return, she would have taken Anastasia with her back to Vilinski and if she were lucky, then she would capture Ileus too. The man was a powerful wizard and she was ready to give him a tough fight. She strongly hoped that she would capture him because once she took him back with her, she would make him her sex slave. Thinking that, she got wet and clenched her thighs. She was dying to see the real Ileus.
She heard a loud voice from downstairs. "Hurry up! Why haven't you lit the oil lamps on the rail?" Robert was yelling at his servants.
Hurriedly, Maple tiptoed her way to the next room. When she opened it, she found it vacant. The next two rooms were also vacant. Her excitement ebbed a little. She became impatient and peered into the other room when suddenly from the opposite side, she heard a girl laughing. Maple came out of the room immediately but as soon as she was out, she found the girl had walked down the stairs, with her golden hair swaying behind her. She was wearing gray slacks and an oversized white sweater.
"Anastasia!" Robert shouted from the salon.
Maple's eyes became wide. Perplexed, she rushed towards the landing, only to stop in the shadows and see the girl stepping down the last stair. She was holding hands with a tall man in black slacks and black sweater. "Ileus…" she murmured and her gaze traveled to their hands. They were holding each other's hand tightly.
She looked towards the left side of the landing where she had checked all the rooms. Where did these two come from? Did she miss a room? Maple took a step out from the shadows to see the couple clearly. Her excitement peaked. Target was right there and she wanted to go all out to get them. She looked to her left and right, then placed the tray of food near the door of a room and started to descend the stairs. The couple was still talking to Robert.
Only a few more steps and she was going to use her magic on them. Her eyes smiled and her mouth followed in anticipation. She patiently waited for Anastasia to turn towards her. Maple wanted to see the shock on her face when she would throw her magic on the gullible couple. As Anastasia talked to the man in the salon, her anticipation turned sugary because soon it would act like a magnifying glass to her happiness. She chuckled inward. Taking another step closer, she now waited at the end of the rail and held it tightly. "Turn Anastasia," she muttered under her breath. However, she was in for a shock when the couple went towards the exit instead of going back to the room.
She rushed after them when Robert called, "Where the hell do you think you are running, Cate?"
She continued to rush, not responding to the name, but a man stopped her. "Cate, the Master wants to talk to you." He pointed at the salon.
Her face contorted with anger for being interrupted. With a clenched jaw she turned to look at Robert.
"Don't you look at me like that!" Robert warned. "Especially if you want money for the day!" He stared at her for a moment and said, "Go to the kitchen and get me some ale."
She gave him a dirty glare. Not wanting to create a scene, she stomped to the kitchen, however, instead of stopping there, she walked out of it. She hurried into the back alley where she turned her disguise back into the traveler woman. Pressed against time, she darted to the front side of the inn. Anastasia and Ileus were not there. She punched the fence and scanned the street. To her utter delight she found them walking to the left side, utterly unaware of the danger lurking behind them.
Maple wondered if they received her second letter or not. Because if they did receive it, then weren't they afraid that they shouldn't be walking in the open? Keeping her eyes on them, she started following them. Where was their group? Her mind started thinking of several scenarios. It was possible that their group was walking around them. She took a gander at the men behind them. Since she didn't know who all belonged in the group other than Kaizan, she had to keep low. But this was an opportunity she didn't want to lose. She had to somehow take them towards the forest.
As she walked she heard doors scraping over uneven ground. Several milkmaids crossed her holding small pails of milk. Horses' heavy treads along the packed street every now and then irritated her. All of a sudden a rattling wagon stopped just short of banging into her. She muttered a curse under her breath as she continued to follow them.
